Search yourself. Be honest. Don’t be afraid. Don’t hold back. Shine the light into the darkest parts of yourself. Question what you have come to believe. Put to the test the foundations of your faith. Examine the way you live out God’s truth. Covered by the grace of God through the blood of His Son allow the Holy Spirit to guide you, to convict you as you contemplate the following statement…

We are the cause of the current state of Christianity in North America.

It can’t be possible. Not me! Not my church! Not my denomination! Not my brothers and sisters in Christ! The church is in decline because the once detestable is now acceptable and legal. That’s the real problem. Not me. Not my church. Not my denomination. Not my brothers and sisters in Christ. We stand for truth. We fight for morality. We speak against wrong and lead in the ways of righteousness.

I am the cause of the current state of Christianity in North America.

While you were standing for truth, I was questioning if your truth was really the truth. While you were fighting for morality, I was unsure that I shared your limits on behaviour. While you were speaking against what is wrong and leading people in the ways of righteousness, I was confused about what really is wrong and what really is righteous. You are convinced that you are right and now that I am done questioning, done being unsure and done being confused, I have come to believe that you are wrong and I am right.

The government is cause of the current state of Christianity in North America.

Since the foundations of North American society we have trusted in our ability to creat countries (Canada and the USA) and societies through government that share the same truth, morality and understanding of wrong and righteousness. It started the same way Israel did, it started with a common understanding of the authority of God in all matters. Israel appointed a king. North America elected governments. Both counted on the power/position(s) to uphold truth, morality and righteousness. The Israelites trusted in their King, the Americans trust their system of checks and balances and the Canadians trust in their parliamentary system, making them the arbiters of truth and morality. God, the state and the church have become intertwined. The church, (us) rely on the state (the government) to reveal and enact the will of God.

Misplaced trust is the cause of the current state of Christianity in North America.

Search yourself. Be honest. Don’t be afraid. Don’t hold back. Shine the light into the darkest parts of yourself. Question what you have come to believe. Put to the test the foundations of your faith. Examine the way you live out God’s truth. Covered by the grace of God through the blood of His Son allow the Holy Spirit to guide you, to convict you as you contemplate the outcome of trusting the offices created by man to guard, implement and proclaim the truth of God.

Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me,” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty. Jeremiah 2:19 (NIV)

There is only one source for truth. There is only one standard of morality. There is only one judge of what is wrong and what is righteous. His truth is does not change regardless of what we consider truth. His morals are unaffected by the behaviour or desires of humans. His definition of wrong and declaration of what is righteous was, is and always will be the same righteousness. To be in awe of anyone/anything else, to rely on anyone/anything else is to forsake God.

The modern church must stop relying on the government to guard, implement and proclaim the truth of God or we will run the risk of government replacing God.